When is the best time to collect red elderberry, timing and technique
Red elderberry is popular among the people due to its beneficial properties. The flowers of this plant are actively used in folk medicine - for the preparation of tinctures for colds, flu, sore throats, diabetes mellitus, hormonal imbalance, burns and skin diseases. It is important to understand when to harvest the red elderberry, since the preservation of its properties depends on the correct collection.
The timing of collecting elderberry flowers
Elderberries are harvested during full bloom. The best time is considered the moment when not all flowers have opened yet. Fully opened inflorescences have the greatest number of useful properties that are valued in traditional medicine. Flowers should be picked in warm, dry weather.
When are berries harvested?
Unlike black elderberry, red elderberry fruit has an unpleasant taste. Unripe fruits are toxic and should not be eaten.
Elderberries are harvested after full ripening - in late August or September.
It is important not to miss the moment when the berries are fully ripe. Ripe fruits are firm and firm. If you are late in picking, the berries will become shriveled, semi-dry and unusable, as they will lose most of the useful properties. Red elderberries should be picked and dried in whole bunches.
Bark harvest
In addition to flowers and berries, elderberry bark also has beneficial properties. It is harvested in April, from two-year-old branches, during the ripening of the buds. Only the upper dark layer of the bark is cut off. After harvesting, the bark should be dried in a ventilated place.
Required tools
For harvesting, you will need sharp scissors or pruning shears, since elderberries are collected in clusters. The blades must be sharpened so as not to harm the plant. It is better to harvest in a basket or tray so that the harvest can be distributed evenly. To store the dried crop, you will need sealed glass vessels that do not allow moisture to pass through.
Collection technique
Elder flowers should be picked during the blooming period, separating them from the flower stalks. After harvesting, the flowers should be dried and passed through a sieve. Flowers should be stored at a humidity of no more than 14 percent.
Ripe fruits are harvested in bunches. After collecting, the bunches must be spread out in a thin layer and dried in the air. After that, the fruits are dried in a dryer or oven. Dried fruits must be separated from the twigs.
The bark is collected from two-year-old branches. It is cleaned, the top layer is scraped off, separated and dried in a dryer or oven. The roots of the plant are harvested in late autumn.They are dried in the same way and ground to a powder consistency.
Storage rules
The collected flowers can be stored for 24 months at an air temperature of +5 to +25 degrees Celsius and an air humidity of no more than 65%. Dried fruits can be stored for no more than six months. The bark of the plant can be stored for three years, and the roots of the elderberry can be stored for five years.
Application
Red elderberry, unlike black, is not used in official medicine, but has become widespread in folk medicine. Also, despite the fact that the berries of the plant have a worse taste than the black elderberry, and unripe fruits are considered poisonous and eating them can cause poisoning, the berries can nevertheless be used for culinary purposes after heat treatment.
In folk medicine
Flowers and berries of red elderberry are the main component in the preparation of many medicinal tinctures that help with bronchitis, rheumatism. A decoction from the roots of the plant is used as a laxative and diuretic.
For stomach ulcers, three times a day before meals, drink one hundred milliliters of elderberry infusion and eat it with vegetable oil. The infusion is taken within a month and the course is repeated two weeks later if necessary.
For the treatment of bronchial asthma, an infusion from the bark of the plant helps.
One tablespoon of crushed roots per 300 milliliters of boiling water is infused for two hours and eaten three times a day, half a glass.
In the treatment of rheumatism, headaches and colds, a tincture of elderberry flowers is used. Two teaspoons of crushed flowers are poured with boiling water in an amount of 250 milliliters and infused for 10 minutes. 100 milliliters of infusion is drunk twice a day.
In cooking
A tasty and healthy juice is obtained from the berries of red elderberry, which can be prepared for the winter. To prepare it, the berries must be scalded, rubbed through a sieve and bring the resulting juice to a boil. You can eat no more than 50 grams of juice per day.
The juice has an immunity-strengthening effect and helps to restore the natural metabolism.
Fresh ripe fruits of the plant are used to make preserves, jams and purees. Puree is made from berries and sugar, in a two to one ratio. The berries are ground together with sugar and put on fire. After that, the resulting mixture should be brought to a boil, put into jars and pasteurized.
Jam is made from berries and sugar in a one-to-one ratio, with the addition of a small amount of pure water. The berries are crushed and boiled with sugar and water until thickened.
